Kerr on the Warriors’ “Flaw”

October 2, 2017

Linked below is one of my favorite articles coming out of NBA training camp. Coming off a 16-1 run to the NBA Championship that followed a 67-win regular season, the Warriors are as heavy of a preseason favorite as the NBA has ever seen. Head coach Steve Kerr has worked hard to find potential spots of weaknesses for his squad and his identified his number 1 concern: passing inaccuracy. Kerr believes that while the Warriors are the most unselfish team in the league, they are merely average in terms of passing fundamentals.

But the lesson wasn’t limited to the film and meeting room. Kerr took it out on the court, “harping” on every imperfect pass during the first three practices and even starting off the day by lining the guys up for a specific purpose. “Basic passing drills,” Kerr said. So the coach really had four of the best players in the world out there running CYO-like chest pass, bounce pass stations? “I’m a Tex Winter disciple,” Kerr said of the legendary Bulls and Lakers assistant coach. “In Chicago, I’ll never forget, one of my first practices with Michael (Jordan) and Scottie (Pippen), Tex had us line up at half court and had us throwing two-hand chest passes back and forth to each other. One-hand pass, left-hand pass, bounce pass. I thought ‘What is this? Third grade. You have two of the best players on Earth passing back and forth to each other.’ But it was a good reminder that fundamentals matter, no matter how old you are.”